


Beauty Of The Deep

by GummiStories



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Camille Belcourt Being An Asshole, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Injured Alec Lightwood, Injury Recovery, M/M, Manipulative Camille Belcourt, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Past Child Abuse, Protective Magnus Bane, Recovery, merman au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-02-05 03:09:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12785646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GummiStories/pseuds/GummiStories
Summary: Magnus owns a rehabilitation centre for abused downworlders, giving them a place to heal and recover before going back out into the world.These downworlders are his children... but when it comes to a certain hazel-eyed merman? Not so much.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was beta read by: https://chaotic-neutral-warlock.tumblr.com/
> 
> Follow them on tumblr!

“And you’re sure this is an actual merperson? Not just a warlock with a strong glamour? I don’t want to waste my time on a false lead” Magnus exclaimed as he sipped on his martini, the alcohol lightly burning his throat as it went down.

“I’m sure Magnus, trust me on this one, this guy looks on the verge of death” The vampire replied in a grim voice.

“Camille’s doing, no less; thank you, Lucas, I’ll look into it” Magnus mumbled before hanging up the phone, placing it down on the table beside his couch. With a sigh, Magnus placed down his empty glass and headed towards his front door, grabbing his shoes and coat along the way. 

Camille Belcourt, a former lover and friend turned enemy of Magnus Bane.They had been together in the mid-1800’s, Camille never seemed to take the relationship seriously much to Magnus’ distaste but he loved her nonetheless. 

The final straw for Magnus was when Camille went off and had an affair with a mundane, he had had enough and broke things off with her; refusing to be treated with such disrespect. Of course, life loved to work in cruel and twisted ways, leading them back to one another once more. This time it was business, not pleasure. 

With a flick of his wrist, a portal appeared in his doorway leading to the outside of Camille’s club. Insanity had been open for just over twenty years; she had killed the previous owner years ago and moved into the apartment above the club. It was truly a hotspot for both downworlders and mundanes, normally packed to the brim until closing time; Magnus had been there a few times before. 

Stepping through the portal, he appeared right outside Camille’s apartment door. Reluctantly he straightened his shirt and knocked hard on the thick wooden door knowing Camille would be asleep since it was the middle of the day. The door swung open slowly, revealing Camille on the other side looking as smug as ever

“Magnus Bane, to what do I owe the pleasure?” She asked leaning against the door frame

“Trust me, Camille, I’d much rather be drinking myself into a stupor right now; but we have some downworlder business to discuss” Magnus replied folding his arms over his chest

“And what downworlder business would that be? We’re completely different species” She questioned raising an eyebrow 

“It’s not regarding either of our kinds, a friend of mine told me you have a merperson in your possession” Magnus stated with a frown on his face, of course, Camille would be the type to reduce herself to slavery

“I may have stumbled upon merperson a few years ago, why do you ask?” She questioned, tracing the door handle with a single manicured finger  
“Can I see it?” Magnus blurted out without really thinking, knowing Camille the merperson would be living in terrible conditions

“If I let you see him will you stop bugging me about it?” She replied, a look of annoyance appearing on her face. Magnus nodded causing Camille to sigh, walking out into the hallway shutting her door behind her

“Follow me” She grumbled as she began to walk down the hall towards the stairwell the led down to the club and down to the cellar of the club. The further they went down, the more the temperature seemed to drop; it was dark, dank and freezing cold as they entered the cellar 

“I doubt it would kill you to have a bit of light in here Camille” Magnus mumbled as he followed her blindly in the dark.

“Give me a second dear” She replied in a sickly sweet voice which caused Magnus’ skin to crawl. Her high heels clicked against the concrete before the room was engulfed in a dim yellow light, highlighting the dirty concrete walls and floors; Magnus instantly spotted the boy across the room from him. 

Sitting in a shallow concrete pool was the merman, dirt and murky water was barely up to his waist; his pale skin was covered in bruises, cuts, welts and many other types of wounds. He had dark hair that was almost covering his eyes, it looked greasy and unhealthy. Whilst taking in his appearance Magnus didn’t notice the merman’s wide eyes staring at the two of them, fear clear in his gaze. 

“Isn’t he beautiful? He makes me a very, **very** rich woman. Don’t you sweetheart?” Camille purred, the merman ducked his head and hugged himself lightly. Rage boiled inside Magnus as he listens to Camille treat the boy as if he was just an object. 

“May I talk to him? Alone?” Magnus asked turning to Camille

“Why?” She questioned with her hands on her hips 

“Camille please, just this one time” Magnus replied, trying to stay as calm as he could whilst talking to the infuriating vampire; talking to Camille was like talking to a brick wall at times

“Fine, I have to check on the club anyway” She grumbled with a roll of her eyes. She turned and stalked her way out of the cellar, the door slamming behind her.

“Finally” Magnus mumbled lowly to himself before turning around to face the merman once more, he still had his head hung and was staring at the murky water.

“Hey there sweetpea,” Magnus said softly, taking a few steps towards the pool. The merman’s head shot up and he quickly began to shuffle back away from Magnus, he clearly hadn’t had a kind touch or interaction in a while 

“I’m not going to hurt you” Magnus quickly exclaimed, not wanting to frighten the merman more. The merman’s eyes seemed to widen at this statement before his head dropped once more and he began to shuffle back over to Magnus. 

He watched on in confusion as the merman shakily held out his arm to him before it hit him like a ton of bricks. The merman believed that he was a vampire and wanted to drink from him, Camille must have been allowing high paying customers to drink from him as merpeople blood is known to be quite potent. 

“Oh honey I’m not going to drink from you, I’m here to help you,” Magnus said softly, taking the merman’s wrist between his hands. His wrist was riddled with many bites scars and his veins were quite prominent, further proving his theory. The merman looked up at him with a frown, confusion clear in his eyes.

“What’s your name?” Magnus asked as he felt bad for just referring to him as merman

The boy opened his mouth to reply but all that came out was a strangled and painful sounding noise; he quickly shut his mouth and turned his face away in shame

“What’s the matter?” Magnus questioned with a frown on his face once more. The boy raised his hand pointed to the side of his neck where his gills were, they were clearly blocked up and irritated as the skin around them were flaming red 

“I see… could you trace it out on my hand then?” The warlock suggested, he smiled slightly when the merman nodded in response. He held out his hand allowing the merman to place a pale finger on his palm, concentrating hard on what the boy was tracing he felt him spell out 

**A L E C**

“Alec? Is that your name?” Magnus asked to which the boy, Alec, nodded.

“Nice to meet you, Alec, I’m Magnus Bane,” He said warmly slowly holding out his hand for Alec to take and shake if he wished to. Alec seemed somewhat confused at first but gently took Magnus’ hand and shook it

“So Alec, would you like to leave this place?” Magnus questioned causing Alec’s eyes to widen once more in surprise and confusion. His facial expression quickly changed to a frown as he pointed over to the door which Camille had left them through less than five minutes ago

“You don’t have to worry about her anymore, I set something up before I came in here. I have a place you can stay if you’d like, it’s for downworlders like you who need to get out of a bad situation, you’ll have your own place and you can do whatever your heart desires” Magnus explained to Alec, the merman listening intently. A frown settled upon Alec’s face once more as he nodded, he didn’t seem confident in his decision 

“Is something the matter?” Magnus asked not knowing why he would seem upset, he has a chance to escape this hellhole, how could he be sad? As if Alec could read his mind, he slowly pulled his tail up out of the dirty water; causing Magnus to stare in both awe and disgust. 

Alec’s tail was a light blue and it was truly beautiful, the one thing that made Magnus furious was that many of his scales were missing and his tail was extremely dull and unhealthy looking.

Clearly, Camille had been peeling Alec’s scales off and selling them; merpeople scales were extremely rare and would no doubt sell for a very high price. But what caught Magnus’ eyes the most was the rusty cuff that was secured tightly around the end of Alec’s tail, keeping him more immobile than he already was

“Is this why you don’t think you can leave?” Magnus asked to which Alec nodded in response. Without saying anything, Magnus clicked his fingers causing the rusted old cuff to fall from Alec’s tail with a heavy _‘clang’_ as it hit the concrete underneath it. Where the cuff had been Alec’s tail was bloody and raw, there must have been some type of poison on the metal.

“Much better” Magnus smiled before turning and flicking his wrist once more opening a portal, leading to the rehabilitation centre’s infirmary. Alec was watching on his amazement, never in his life had he seen someone do anything like what Magnus had just done.

“Now here’s the tricky part, for you to be able to come through… I need to carry you as you can’t walk” Magnus explained, knowing Alec was going to **hate** the thought of being touched like that. Just as he expected, Alec’s body tensed up at the statement and he hung his head once more in fear

“It won’t take long, a couple of seconds if that” Magnus attempted to sway the petrified downworlder; he could clearly see Alec having an internal battle with himself, not that he could blame him. Relief filled Magnus’ body when he saw Alec nod his head; the thought of leaving Alec here alone had become unbearable at this point 

“Okay, I’m going to reach down and place my arms underneath you, put your arms around my neck” Magnus instructed as he began to lean down to pick Alec up. It took one quick move for Magnus to have Alec scooped up in his arms, it was somewhat alarming. Alec was **a lot** lighter then he had expected him to be. He had seen Alec looked underweight when he walked in but he was not expecting this… he had a lot of work to do

“Ready?” Magnus asked looking down at Alec who was hiding his face, quivering and shaking in his arms. Pity weighed heavy in Magnus’ heart as he looked at the boy, for someone who seemed so young, he had been through a lot; but it was Magnus’ job to undo what Camille had done. 

Straightening himself up once more he turned to the portal and stepped through; this was going to be a tough one, but Magnus would not give up.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can't currently link the beta readers as I'm posting on my phone but thank you to my beta readers!  
> You know who you are!

“And here we are!” Magnus exclaimed as he stepped through the portal and into the infirmary. He quickly deposited Alec into an awaiting pool, knowing the less physical contact the better Alec would feel.

“Just need to text Catarina so she can come and check out your injuries” Magnus mumbled mostly to himself as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Once the text was sent he pocketed his phone and turned back around to face Alec, surprised when he saw a concerned look on Alec’s face.

“Is something the matter?” Magnus questioned, Alec pointed to the pool he was in before making a cube like gesture with his hands. He was concerned about the size of the pool he was in.

“Oh don’t worry my dear, you won’t be staying in that pool forever. My friend Catarina is going to come and look at your injuries and then we’ll take you to your normal pool” Magnus quickly explained, hoping to calm Alec’s nerves. Thankfully the frown disappeared from Alec’s face and he nodded, visibly relaxing into the water; compared to the water Camille was keeping him in, the clean and fresh water must have felt like heaven to Alec.

The moment of peace was ruined when the room filled with gushing winds as Catarina portalled into the room. The sudden noise caused Alec to jump and quickly hide underwater, in an attempt to protect himself. 

“You could have used the door” Magnus groaned with a roll of his eyes due to his friend’s dramatic entry.

“I know darling but where’s the fun in that?” Catarina smirked, bumping shoulders with her fellow warlock.

“The fun in that is not scaring our guest, Catarina meet Alec” Magnus replied gesturing towards Alec who was still underwater watching on in fear as the two conversed.

“Oh… whoops?” She mumbled sheepishly with a shrug, Magnus rolled his eyes before walking over to the tank.

“It’s alright Alec, she’s a friend” Magnus explained, gently placing his hand in the water in an attempt to bring him to the surface so Cat could have a look at him. Reluctantly, Alec poked his head out of the water to look Catarina up and down.

“Hi there, I’m sorry I scared you” Catarina apologised as he went into what Magnus liked to call her ‘Nurse mode’.

“Cat is a nurse, she wants to take a look at your injuries, is that alright?” Magnus asked gently, matching Cat’s tone. Alec nodded lightly allowing Magnus to hoist him up onto a steel platform that was next to the pool, allowing Catarina to access his whole body since it was completely littered with injuries. She laid out her medical kit next to Alec before turning to Magnus.

“This may take a while, I suggest you stay here since he seems a bit more comfortable with you” Cat said before turning back to Alec to begin treating his wounds. 

It took a few hours for Catarina to fully patch Alec up as his injuries were extensive and many were badly infected but they were not match for Catarina.

“Okay, that about covers it honey… Magnus can I speak to you privately?” Cat said as she wiped her hands on a towel. The pair walked away from Alec’s pool, just far enough so he wouldn’t be able to hear them.

“Is something the matter Cat?” Magnus questioned lowly stealing a glance at Alec who was still sitting on the metal platform, gently flicking the end of his tail back and forth in the water.

“It’s his gills Magnus, they’re really blocked up and infected, I need to clean them but the gills are the most sensitive part of a merperson’s body. I really need to clean them but I don’t know if he’ll be able to handle it” Catarina explained with a concerned look on her face.

“How are we going to do this then?” Magnus asked.

“He seems the most comfortable with you, maybe you could keep him calm whilst I clean them” Catarina suggested to which Magnus nodded in agreement, worry weighting heavy in his stomach. The pair made their way back over to Alec, who looked up at them as they approached. 

“Alec, Cat needs to clean your gills” Magnus said knowing Alec wasn’t going to like the idea one bit. Just as he expected, Alec froze up and his eyes widened before he shook his head.

“I know you don’t like the idea but it has to be done, it’ll be over and done before you know it” Magnus tried to bargain with him. Alec let out a silent sigh before hanging his head with a weak nod; Magnus felt horrible for having to make Alec go through this but it was a necessary pain. 

“I’ll stay here the whole time” Magnus said as he nodded to Catarina, giving her the good to go. Alec watched on with wide eyes as she prepared, his whole body shaking like a leaf. Magnus didn’t know what comfort he could offer aside from…

“Alec, would you like to hold my hand?” Magnus muttered, hoping Alec wouldn’t take it the wrong way. Much to his surprise Alec nodded his head strongly and the moment Magnus held his hand out to him he gripped it as if it was a life line.

“Alright just stay still Alec, this won’t take long” Cat promised before she slipped a medicine coated cotton swab into his first gill. Alec took a sharp breath in and gripped Magnus’ hand tighter, screwing his eyes up. 

“Well done Alec, you’re doing so well” Magnus said quietly, gently rubbing his thumb on the back of Alec’s hand in an attempt to comfort him. Sweat broke out across Alec’s skin as he breathed quickly, almost hyperventilating, whilst Catarina continued to clean his gills. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity for Alec but was only half an hour, Cat was done, leaving Alec on the brink of passing out and his breathing erratic. 

“There we go Alec, all done!” Catarina exclaimed with a smile, he didn’t seem to be paying attention to her as he continued to grip Magnus’ hand. 

“You did such a good job Alec, I’m so proud of you” Magnus mumbled quietly, rubbing Alec’s back with his other hand. 

“Now that his gills are clear, he should be able to talk properly. Alec would you like to give it a go?” Cat questioned as she dried her hands once more. Alec opened his eyes and allowed himself a few minutes to calm his breathing and pounding heart before taking a shallow breath in through his gills. It was a little painful and quite a strange feeling as he hadn’t breathed through his gills in years.

“How does it feel?” Magnus questioned, Alec nodded before preparing to attempt to say something.

“I-It’s oka-okay…” A weak voice came from Alec’s throat, shocking Magnus. He was not expecting the merman’s voice to be so deep, it caused his stomach to do a flip.

“Your voice will be a bit croaky and your throat will be sore for awhile” Catarina explained as she reached into her bag for something. 

“Tha-Thank you” Alec mumbled looking between the two.

“Whatever for dear?” Magnus questioned with a small laugh.

“Ta-Taking me a-away fr-from her” Alec replied causing Magnus to smile. 

“It’s my pleasure. Where were you before you ended up with Camille?” Magnus questioned.

“It’s a l-long story” Alec replied in a small voice, rubbing the back of his neck in nervousness.

“We have all time in the world now... but you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to” Catarina quickly added, not wanting to put Alec under any unnecessary pressure. 

Alec went on to explain how he ended up with Camille: When he was nine years old and his parents found out he was a merman, they sold him to an underground downworlder ring not wanting to have to deal with a downworlder for a son. He was at the downworlder ring for two years before Camille came and decided to buy him, he became her newest business investment for the next eleven years. She was cruel and torturous to him, making every day of his life hell. 

“Well none of that will ever happen again Alec, you’re going to live happily here” Magnus stated strongly, anger brewing in his stomach. 

“Alexander”

“Pardon?”

“Alexander, that’s my full name…” Alec replied, a light blush flushing his cheeks. 

“Do you remember your last name Alec?” Catarina asked, Alec shook his head in response.

“My middle name is Gideon and I’m 22, that’s all I can remember” Alec continued with a shrug. 

Alexander Gideon… where have I heard that name before Magnus thought to himself, a light frown appearing on his face. 

“You take Alec to his pool whilst I come up with a meal plan” Ordered Catarina, as she pulled up a wheelchair for Alec to go in. Both Cat and Magnus held onto Alec’s arms and lifted him up into the wheelchair, his tail hanging out of the chair and on the ground. Alec’s pool wasn’t too far from the infirmary meaning the groupdidn’t have to walk/wheel far before Magnus helped Alec up and into his pool, he disappeared quickly underwater causing Magnus to smile. 

Magnus headed back to the infirmary to allow Alec to settle in for a while and to check on Catarina, she was still writing down Alec’s meal plan as he walked in.

“How’s it going nurse lady?” Magnus teased as he looked over Catarina’s shoulder. 

“Good, his diet needs to be gentle on his stomach at first because we don’t want to overwhelm his system since I doubt Camille fed him at all. He’s so malnourished Magnus, it’s crazy” Catarina sighed, turning to him. 

“Well that’s where we come in, we’re going to help him Cat” Magnus replied placing a hand on her shoulder, she smiled before turning back to the papers.  
“I’ll send this to the kitchen, how did he react to the pool?” Catarina asked as she lit the papers on fire, letting them burn in the air as they were sent to the kitchen. 

“I’m not sure, he went under pretty fast” Magnus replied causing Cat to frown.

“Maybe you should check on him, just to make sure” Catarina suggested.

“He literally just got in Cat, I’m sure he’s just having a look around, it’s quite a large pool” Magnus explained.

“Please Magnus, it’d make me feel better” Catarina pouted, putting her hands together in a mock begging motion which caused Magnus to sigh.

“Alright Catarina, I’ll go check on him” Magnus rolled his eyes before turning to leave once more 

“Thank you Bane!” Cat shouted after him causing him to smile, even after centuries of being friends, Magnus would never get tired of Catarina’s antics. Instead of heading to the top of the pool, he walked towards the stairwell that lead down to the underground viewing area so he could see Alec underwater.

The room had a blue hue to it due to the colour of the walls tiling the pool. The enclosure was full of rocks, corals and many other things making it as sea like as possible, but the walls were tiled blue just for an add on effect. Magnus scanned the pool before spotting Alec against the wall opposite the viewing area, at first Magnus was pleased that Alec was underwater and breathing through his gills but the longer he looked, the more concerned he became. 

Alec was holding on to one of the ledges poking out of the wall, his face in a frown and his tail was swishing back and forth in annoyance, something wasn’t right. Magnus knocked on the glass causing Alec to look over to him, pointing to the top of the water motioning for him to go to the top. Alec nodded before he began climbing up the wall, causing Magnus to frown, why was he climbing? He should be swimming.

Magnus quickly made his way up to the top of the pool, seeing Alec waiting for him, holding onto the side of the pool wall 

“Alec, is everything okay?” Magnus questioned, Alec’s face was flushed red in… embarrassment? He was staring at the ground as he fiddled with his hands.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me” Magnus continued, attempting to get Alec to continue. Alec took in a deep breath before sighing. 

“I-It’s ju-just… Camile ke-kept me in su-such sma-small tanks I-I… I ne-never learnt to sw-swim properly” Alec replied, the blush on his face intensifying. Anger brewed in Magnus’ stomach once more, his hatred for Camille growing even more. 

“That fucking bitch” Magnus growled lowly.“When you get a bit stronger I’ll get someone to come in and help you” He continued, Alec’s eyes widened and his face paled after Magnus finished. 

“What’s the matter Alec?” Magnus asked as he notice Alec’s change in stance. 

“I-It’s just… la-last time C-Camille got someo-one to he-help me… he ca-came and took my sc-scales” Alec mumbled as he remembered that time.

“Oh Alexander, would you prefer if I helped you to learn how to swim?” Magnus suggested, Alec nodded without looking up from his staring contest with the floor. 

“Alexander, you can look at me if you’d like, we’re both equals here” Magnus exclaimed gently, this was a very common thing when it came to abused downworlders. Many of them believed that they were lower than their ‘owner’ and didn’t believe they had the right to look them in the eyes.

“But she-

“It doesn’t matter what she said, she’s not in charge of you anymore” Magnus stated firmly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yo-You are?” Alec questioned.

“No Alec, you are you’re own person and no one will ever order you around again” Magnus replied.

“Ok-Okay” Alec nodded before shakily looking up at Magnus, their eyes meeting.

“Well, I’m going to head to the kitchen and see how your food is doing, I’ll be back later”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a few hours later when Alec’s first meal arrived, Magnus was sitting in the underground viewing area once again to keep an eye on him. Since this was the first full meal Alec was having, Magnus wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t able to keep it down, but so far it was going well. Alec was sitting on one of the underwater ledges, slowly picking at and eating his food.  
A lot of downworlders that Magnus took in tended to eat their first meals quite fast since they weren’t used to having food whenever they required, it never ended well. 

Magnus came out of his thoughts when he saw Alec freeze, his skin suddenly going a slight shade of green. He was going to be sick. Magnus quickly got to his feet when he saw Alec beginning to climb up the wall once more, most likely to vomit. 

The light hurt Magnus’ eyes when he came out of the darkness but it was quick to dismiss the discomfort when he saw Alec leaning over the side wall, emptying his stomach onto the ground.

“Alec-

The moment Alec heard Magnus’ voice, his head shot up to look at him in fear before he panicked and threw himself back into the water, quite violently. Magnus rushed over to the side just in time to see Alec vomit once more underwater as he began sinking to the bottom 

“Shit, shit, shit!” Magnus exclaimed as he quickly clicked his fingers, causing a metal lifting platform to appear beside him. Since Alec couldn’t swim by himself, the only way for him to be able to get back to the top would be to climb onto the lift. Magnus slowly lowered the lift into the pool until it was on the bottom next to Alec.

He waited with baited breath, hoping that Alec would climb on the lift. The slight shift in the weight of the lift signalled that Alec had climbed on, much to Magnus’ delight. 

Slowly Magnus brought the lift back up to the top of the water; the moment Alec broke the surface his panicked breaths filled the air, he was having a panic attack. Magnus quickly rushed to the side of the pool and gently grabbed Alec’s hands, giving him something to ground himself with. 

“I-I’m so-sorry… I ca-can’t, so-sorry I-”

“Alec, Alec it’s okay, it’s not your fault” Magnus said softly, attempting to calm the panicked boy.

“I ca-can’t, I can’t br-breath” Alec whimpered, his hazel eyes full of tears. 

“It’s alright, just try to relax. Take in the deepest breath you can and hold it” Magnus instructed him. Alec did was he was told taking in a large breath before holding it, his body shaking with effort. 

“Now let it out slowly” He continued, watching closely as Alec breathed out. Together they repeated that pattern before Alec finally calmed down, leaving him leaning his forehead against the side of the pool in exhaustion.

“‘Mm sorry” Alec said weakly, not looking at Magnus who was watching him with a sad look on his face. Magnus wanted nothing more than to take Alec into his arms and tell him he had nothing to be sorry for, but Alec wasn’t used to those kind of touches and it was way too forward, even for Magnus. 

“It’s okay Alec, you don’t have to apologize, your stomach wasn’t used to food and it was most likely too much. Tomorrow we’ll give you a little less food so your system can handle it” Magnus replied.

“But the vo-vomit… it’s in the water” Alec continued, looking up at Magnus. His face was flushed due to the exertion his body just went through. 

“We can clean it Alec, it’s not a big deal. What matters the most is that you’re okay, are you okay?” Magnus questioned.

“Y-Yeah… yeah I’m o-okay” Alec mumbled.

“Then let’s get you out of here so we can get this pool cleaned”


	3. Chapter Three

“Magnus are you sure this is a good idea? We can just call someone in to teach him.” Cat mumbled as she watched Magnus prepare the training pool.

“Alec said that he wanted me to teach him so I shall teach him,” Magnus replied, not turning his attention away from the pool.

“Have you taught someone to swim before? Let alone a merman?” She questioned.

“Yes and no, it’ll be fine, Catarina stop worrying” Magnus rolled his eyes and he turned to began heading over to Alec’s tank. It had been a few weeks since Alec had first arrived and everything seemed to be going smoothly, Alec’s second meal had gone down without an incident. 

He had gained back a bit of body fat and muscle, Magnus believed he was strong enough to start his first swimming lesson.

“I will laugh if he accidentally slaps you with his tail” Cat snorted as the pair walked closer to Alec’s tank.

“Oh ha ha, you’re so funny Loss” Magnus rolled his eyes once more before turning to knock strongly on the glass a signal for Alec to climb up to the top of the water, it was a system the three of them had worked out so they could communicate with one another when Alec was underwater.

It didn’t take Alec long to breach the surface, a small smile on his face. The first time Alec had smiled at him Magnus had almost had a heart attack, the merman had one of the most beautiful smiles Magnus had ever seen. From that point on Magnus tried whenever he could to make Alec smile, it was a hard task but it didn’t deter him. 

“You ready Alec?” Cat asked returning the smile.

“As I’ll ever be” Alec replied with a shrug; the stuttering stopped two weeks after he arrived when his throat and gills healed.

“It’s only to be a short one since this is your first lesson” Magnus explained as both him and Cat hoisted up out of the pool and into the awaiting wheelchair. The walk to the training pool wasn’t long and Alec was in the water once again, Magnus joining him this time. 

“This pool has a current that you can swim against whilst practising, if at any time you want to stop just let me know alright?” Magnus instructed Alec as Cat turned the current on low.

“Alright there are a few different ways merfolk tend to swim, it’s really down to personal choice and whatever feels comfortable for you” Magnus explained, for the next two hours Alec and 

Magnus went through 6 different swimming techniques but every time Alec ended up getting pushed away by the current. Nothing was working and Alec was clearly becoming more agitated by the minute. 

“Maybe we should take a break?” Cat suggested as she turned the current off; she was given no response from Alec who was holding onto the edge of the pool.

“Alexander it’s okay it’s-

“It’s not okay Magnus! I’m a twenty-two-year-old merman and I can’t fucking swim! I’m so stupid! Why can’t I do anything right!” Alec yelled in frustration his face going red in anger. Both Cat and Magnus watched on frozen due to the outburst that just occurred.

Alec noticed their stares and horror washed over him, what did he just do? He just talked back to them, this could only end one way.

“I-I… I’m so sorry! I, I, I didn’t mean it! Please forgive me! I’ll never do it again I promise!” Alec quickly exclaimed, dropping his head in submission knowing what was coming. Magnus felt his heart drop once again watching Alec begin to panic, Camille was most likely to blame for this.

Magnus quickly swam over to Alec and gently grabbed one of his wrists, letting keep his other hand on the edge of the pool even though he could easily touch the bottom.

“Alexander, you did nothing wrong, you don’t need to apologize. Can you take a deep breath for me?” Magnus said softly not wanting Alec to work himself into a full-blown panic attack. Alec sucked in a breath before looking up at Magnus, who was looking at him with concern.

“Good?” Magnus asked Alec nodded stiffly which caused Magnus to frown. Alec’s jaw was clenched and his shoulders were stiff, he was almost shaking; he was trying not to cry.

“Hey, it’s alright to cry, bottling up your feelings can destroy a person, you shouldn’t be ashamed to let out your emotions,” Magnus said gently as he placed a hand on Alec’s back, rubbing soft circles into the wet skin. 

Magnus watched Alec closely to see his reaction to his small speech; tears began to well in the merman’s eyes as his bottom lip began to wobble a bit.

“It’s alright, Alexander” 

That’s all it took to tip Alec over the edge, the merman began sobbing. His whole body shaking with the cries escaping his mouth. Magnus sighed in sadness as he watched Alec cry, his hand still on his back; this was clearly not just about the swimming anymore.

Magnus was shocked when Alec leaned in and collapsed against him, clearly seeking some sort of comfort. He wrapped his arms around the merman’s body, gently beginning to shush and rock the distressed man, he clearly needed the chance to let go.

Catarina was watching on in shock, she had known Magnus for centuries and had never seen him act this way towards anyone. Sure he had been kind to people in the past but it had never been to this level of comfort, he was clearly falling for this boy. 

~~~~~~

It had been a long day for both Magnus and Cat, they were now both situated on Magnus’ couch having a well-deserved drink. Whilst taking a sip of his cocktail Magnus noticed Cat was looking at him with a smirk on her face.

“What are you looking so smug about Loss?” Magnus questioned raising an eyebrow.

“You, Mr Bane are falling for a particular merman in our care” Cat replied causing Magnus’ cheeks to flush with embarrassment as he chugged the rest of his drink.

“I knew it! I fucking knew it!” Cat exclaimed loudly, slapping Magnus’ arm teasingly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Magnus replied with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh don’t play stupid with me Magnus, I see how you’ve begun acting around him” She smirked as he turned redder by the minute.

“I’m not playing stupid, I am not falling for Alec” Magnus lied, he knew he was falling for Alec and he was falling hard. Every time he was around the merman his heart tended to flutter and his  
legs felt weak, he was trying as hard as he could to stop his feelings from getting the best of him. 

“I’m totally going to ask him what he thinks of you during his check up tomorrow” Cat beamed and Magnus groaned.

“I need another drink”

~~~~~~

“Alright Alec, everything looks great! Your scales are coming back in nicely and your injuries have left minimal scarring” Cat explained as she finished looking over Alec

“Thank you Catarina” Alec replied with a small smile

“Please, no need for formalities, Cat is fine” Cat returned the smile before turning to put away her tools

“Oh, okay” Alec mumbled, playing his hands. It was a nervous habit that both her and Magnus noticed he did a lot. There was a small stretch silence between the two as Catarina packed her stuff up.

“Alec, I have to ask… what do you think of Magnus?” Cat asked turning back to face Alec, the merman’s eyes widened slightly and Cat noticed a small blush began to paint his cheeks.

“He’s.... he’s really nice, I don’t know why but my heart beats faster when I’m near him, why does it do that?” Alec questioned, Cat has to restrain herself from jumping with joy. Normally if anyone had an interest towards Magnus, Cat was normally quite suspicious of their intentions with her friend. His feelings had been toyed with in the past. Most of his former partners just wanted to use him for his power but Alec was so innocent, there was no way he would think of Magnus in that kind of way.

“Is there something wrong with my heart?!” Cat was taken out of her thoughts at the sound of Alec’s panicked voice.

“Oh honey nothing is wrong with your heart! The reason your heart goes fast is because you might have feelings for Magnus” Cat said calmly, Alec’s eyes widened once more and his cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red, if that was even possible.

“Alright I think we’re ready to head over to the pool, Magnus is waiting for us” Cat said as she helped Alec off the metal platform and into the awaiting wheelchair so they could go over to the practice pool. The other warlock was waiting for the pair, the pool already turned on.

“How is everything nurse woman?” Magnus asked as he noticed the pair approaching him

“Everything is going really well Mags, he’s looking a lot better” Cat explained with a smile as she helped Alec up into the pool, who landed in the water with a soft splash.

“Alright so we’ll try a different technique today and see how it goes, if you need to stop at any point let me know” Magnus said as he got into the water with Alec.

Together, they spent the next hour trying to get the technique down before suddenly… it happened. Magnus let go of Alec’s arms and watched with wide eyes as Alec began swimming against the current without being pushed away. 

Alec came up from under the water with a huge smile on his face.

“Magnus! Cat! I did it!” Alec exclaimed loudly, excitement bubbling in his voice. He seemed like a proud toddler who had just drawn a picture for his parents.

“Well done Alec! That was amazing, I’m so proud of you!” Magnus praised, returning the smile. Cat was watching on from the side with a smirk on her face. No doubt, these two were clearly falling for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was beta read by Smileysmiles137!


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it took so long!

Magnus sipped his whiskey as he flipped to the next page of the book he was reading, Old Mythology. Ninety percent of it was bullshit, with the occasional somewhat true fact but it was entertaining to read. 

He smirked as he skimmed over the page he had turned to; of all the topics he could have come across, it had to be merfolk.

“Let's see what the mundanes have to say about Alexander”, he mumbled quietly to himself before beginning to read the page.

“Mermen are mythical male equivalents and counterparts of mermaids – legendary creatures who have the form of a male human from the waist up and are fish-like from the waist down, having scaly fish tails in place of legs. A ‘merboy’ is a young merman.

In contrast to mermaids, mermen were traditionally depicted as unattractive. However, some modern depictions show them as handsome.” The text he read caused Magnus to scoff and roll his eyes.

“Unattractive? I beg to differ,” he exclaimed, taking another sip of his nearly finished whisky.

“According to legend, merfolk are pack oriented creatures and will commonly choose a mate. Once mated the merfolk will remain completely loyal to one another, even dying by each other's sides. When around their mate, merfolk are known to make a purring like sound and nuzzle when content. On the contrary, when in danger and not able to defend themselves, merfolk will let out a distress call, known to somewhat resemble that of a dolphin. The call is loud, urgent, and sometimes ear piercing”

“Huh, who would have thought,” Magnus said quietly as he flicked to the next page. Right in the middle was an illustration of what mundanes believed a merman would look like. The creature had long claw-like fingernails, black eyes and razor sharp teeth; it looked nothing like Alec.

“Mundanes,” Magnus sighed before continuing to read.

“It is also a common theory that when merfolk dry out, their tail will transform into a pair of normal human legs. Some believe this was the way mermaids would tempt passing men into the sea before drowning them.” Magnus’ eyes widened as he read the text a few times, making sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.

“I wonder…,” Magnus mumbled to himself if this was true Alec had a chance of being human if he wanted. However, drying Alec out could be very, very dangerous; what happens if you dry out a fish? They die. 

Before attempting anything like this, Magnus needed to see evidence of this working in the past; a trip to the New York Institute was required.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Magnus stepped out of the portal, straightening his vest as he began to walk towards the Institute. As the wards of protection were created by him, he could walk in and out as he desired, although, for others, it wasn’t such a pleasant experience.

The cold, almost stale air hit him as he walked inside the large old church; shadowhunters were bustling around doing god knows what.

“Warlock Bane, what is your business here?” the shadowhunter guarding the hallway exclaimed as he saw him approaching.

“I need to look through the archives this Institute holds,” Magnus replied, causing the shadow hunter's already grumpy expression to intensify.

“Why?” he asked, making Magnus internally roll his eyes.

“Warlock business, I doubt you would understand,” Magnus explained, attempting to keep his cool.

“I need to speak to Victor Aldertree about this,” the shadowhunter grumbled, before turning and walking away.

“Of course you do,” Magnus sighed, actually rolling his eyes this time before leaning up against a wall with a sigh. This was going to take a while.

“Can I help you?” Magnus heard a feminine voice ask. Turning, he saw a woman approaching him. She had long black hair, ruby red lips and lightly tanned skin, clearly a confident young woman.

“I’m waiting for permission to go through the archives,” Magnus replied. The girl scoffed and rolled her eyes before flicking her hair over her shoulder, extending her hand.

“Isabelle Lightwood,” she said with a smile. Magnus smirked and took her hand, shaking it gently.

“Magnus Bane, I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you as a Lightwood,” Magnus replied.

“Well I’m glad; come on, I’ll take you to the archives,” Isabelle smiled, before turning and walking through the room.

“I like this girl,” Magnus thought to himself as he followed her, other shadowhunters giving him weird looks as the pair passed by. Together they made their way through the institute and down into a dark, cold room that was stacked with bookshelves.

“Thank you, my dear, this won’t take long,” Magnus smiled before turning to begin scanning through the huge books of records. It actually took quite a while before Magnus came across a book with the word: “MERFOLK” written across the front in large bold letters.

“Gotcha,” Magnus mumbled quietly as he grabbed the book and began to flick through it carefully, as the pages were old and tinted yellow. There was no doubt this book hadn’t been touched in a long, long time.

“Merfolk? they’ve been extinct for thousands of years.” Magnus jumped slightly at the sound of Isabelle’s voice over his shoulder.

“I’m just looking for some information about whether merfolk can take on a human form or not, I think I may have come across one in human form but I’m not sure…” Magnus lied, as he continued to scan the page.Isabelle seemed like a trustworthy girl but she was a shadowhunter, and if she knew there was a live merfolk around she would have no choice but to report it to the clave. 

“Well, this says something about them having legs, ” Isabelle said, pointing to a paragraph on the page. Magnus looked through and was surprised to see what she had said was true, according to these records merfolk would grow legs when dried.

“Magnus wo-”

“Warlock Bane,” a stern voice exclaimed, causing both shadowhunter and warlock to freeze. Turning around, Magnus was met with an unpleasant sight, Victor Aldertree was standing in the doorway looking extremely cross.

“Ah, Mr Aldertree, I was just-

“I know what you were doing, you aren’t allowed to be down here,” he glared the at the pair.

“Well, Miss Lightwood was kind enough to provide me with the information I required so I’m out of your hair,” Magnus exclaimed, wanting nothing more than to push the guy over. Aldertree scoffed and rolled his eyes before looking back at the pair.

“If I see you down here again-  
“Yes, yes you’ll attempt to kill me; good day Victor,” Magnus said, flashing a smile at Isabelle before opening a portal and walking back into the rehabilitation centre’s office.

“Shadowhunters,” He groaned.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Alexander? Are you awake?” Magnus asked as he walked down into the underground viewing area. He had cast a charm on the water, allowing Alec to hear him, even when completely submerged; however, the sight he was greeted with surprised him.

Alec was doing somersaults under the water and clearly enjoying himself. Magnus smiled at the boy’s childlike nature. Alec’s attitude had changed immensely since he had first arrived, he was no longer afraid to look anyone in the eyes and he was constantly smiling.

“Alexander,” Magnus said, causing Alec to stop what he was doing and look over to him with a wave. Magnus waved back before pointing to the top of the water. Alec nodded and swam up to the top of the pool, Magnus following behind.

“Hi, Magnus!” Alec exclaimed as the warlock came into view.

“Hello yourself Alexander, you seem happy today,” Magnus smiled.

“I’m feeling happy, is there something you needed to talk about?” Alec questioned, resting his chin on his arms.

“Yes actually, I discovered something you might be interested in,” Magnus began.

“Last night I was doing some reading when I came across a passage in the book about merfolk, it claimed that when you dry out you can grow human legs. Now, of course, I didn’t want to just go straight for it without asking you or having any real evidence so I went to see the shadowhunters archives. Sure enough, they had proof of it working so I came here to ask, would you like to try it?” Magnus explained, noticing Alec’s eyes had widened immensely.

“Wait so… I can have legs?” Alec questioned, not believing his ears.

“If what the shadowhunters have written is true, then yes” Magnus nodded.

“I’d love to try it! But… can we do it tomorrow? I’m quite tired,” Alec asked.

“Of course Alexander, I’ll talk to Catarina and get everything ready whilst you rest,” Magnus said before turning to leave to speak to Cat.

“Wait!” Alec shouted and Magnus felt a cold hand grab his wrist tightly before he could get even a few steps away from the pool. Turning back, Alec’s face was flushed with embarrassment and he was biting his lip nervously. 

“Yes?” Magnus asked, wanting nothing more than to just squeal like a teenage girl because Alec was holding his wrist.

“I-I… I was just wondering if I could have a favour” Alec questioned shyly. 

“Of course Alexander, name it,” Magnus said, turning fully around to face the merman.

“If it turns out that this is true and I can have legs, c-can you take me out to the city? I want to see things. I’ve only ever heard about New York through people outside my tank,” Alec mumbled, almost guilty.

“Oh Alexander, of course, I’ll take you to see the city! I’ll plan a whole day for us!” Magnus exclaimed, causing Alec to smile.

“Really?” Alec questioned.

“Absolutely, now you get some rest, I have planning to do,” Magnus smirked before Alec let go of his wrist gently and submerged himself in the water once more, leaving Magnus by himself, his heart about to pound out of his chest.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my beta readers!  
> https://dammmitmagnus.tumblr.com/  
> http://myownworldandwords.tumblr.com/

Today was the day, today Alec, Magnus and Catarina would be testing out Magnus’ theory that Alec could grow legs when dry. To say everyone was nervous was an understatement, Alec was laying on the examination table visibly shaking.

“He’ll be fine, if anything goes wrong we have the pool ready,” Magnus said to Catarina as they both walked back over to the table after having a discussion out of Alec’s earshot.

“I’m not worried Magnus, but I think Alec may be” Cat mumbled quietly pointing over to the merman. Magnus turned and his heart sank as he saw the tremors wracking Alec’s body. 

Without hesitation, Magnus walked forward and gently took one of Alec’s hands. It had become quite a normal thing for the two of them, whenever Alec was feeling stressed or scared, holding Magnus’ hand gave him something to ground himself with. 

Catarina smirked as she watched the exchange, a blush was painting both of the boy’s cheeks and she swore she could hear their hearts pounding from where she stood.

“Shall we get started?” Cat asked, Alec and Magnus, nodding in agreeance as the two warlocks began to conjure heat and gently run it across Alec’s tail, Magnus keeping one of his hands in Alec’s.

After about twenty minutes of slowly heating Alec’s tail, Magnus began to notice small parts of his tail starting to change the same colour as his skin, not only that but Alec’s grip had tightened and he was attempting to hold in whimpers of pain, scrunching his face up.

“What’s happening?” Magnus questioned turning to Cat who was also looking at Alec.

“My guess, since this is the first time this has ever happened it’s most likely going to be a bit painful for him” Cat answered not letting up on the heat.

“It won’t take much longer Alexander, just hang in there,” Magnus said gently, Alec nodded in response, not opening his eyes.

The warlocks continued, the longer the heat stayed on Alec’s tail the more of it turned the same pale colour as his skin. Alec was wincing and gritting his teeth, sweat breaking out all over his skin.

“Almost done…” Magnus mumbled sadly, hating seeing Alec in pain.

Alec shouted out in agony, lifting his head off the examination table attempting to curl in on himself and suddenly it was over. Alec was laying on the table, with two human legs… he was also completely naked.

Magnus’ eyes widened and he averted his eyes, not letting go of Alec’s hand.

“It worked!” Catarina exclaimed with a smile looking Alec over, not really caring for Alec’s lack of clothes since she was a nurse.

“Let’s get you dressed and get you up” 

~~~~~~~

It didn’t take Cat long to get Alec dressed and sitting up, the young merman was staring at his new legs in awe.

“How are you feeling Alec?” Cat asked.

“I’m alright, tired but okay” Alec replied not taking his eyes off his legs.

“Well then, I believe the next step is to get Alexander walking” Magnus smiled giving a nod to Cat. Together they each took one of Alec’s arms and gently pulled him off the examination table and allowed him to stand, most of his weight being held up by the two warlocks.

“How does that feel? Any pain?” Cat questioned.

“It’s just weird… and wobbly” Alec replied causing Magnus to lightly chuckle.

“I doubt you’d have much strength in your legs currently, we’ll work on it, but first! Try and take a step” Magnus answered.

Alec nodded before looking down at his feet once more, his brow furrowed in concentration as he put all of his efforts into moving one of his newly found feet.

“How do you work these things” Alec mumbled as one of his feet shifted slightly.

“Lots of practice Alexander, give it your best shot” Magnus encouraged him. It took a few minutes but Alec finally lifted his foot and put it forwards, smiling at the two warlocks for approval, they smiled in return.

“Now comes the hard part, walking” Cat added

The three practised for hours and after many failed attempts and almost face-plants Alec was walking, only with Magnus gently holding onto his arm.

“I think we should take a rest for today, we don’t want to overexert you the first time you walk” Cat said walking forwards to help Magnus lower Alec into a wheelchair.  
Together they walked/wheeled back to Alec’s pool before lowering him in, his tail appearing a little while after hitting the water.

“Get some rest you, we’ll continue tomorrow” Catarina smirked as she began to take the wheelchair back to the infirmary, leaving the warlock and merman alone.

“Magnus I can walk! Well almost... But that means we can go to the city like you promised!” Alec beamed with a bright smile on his face

“You did amazingly today Alexander, a few more weeks of practice and we’ll go wherever your heart desires” Magnus returned the smile, loving seeing Alec so happy. 

Alec suddenly went quiet which caused concern to rush through Magnus as the merman’s face flushed red.

“Magnus could… could you come closer? Please?” Alec mumbled quietly, barely loud enough for Magnus to hear. Fulfilling his wish Magnus leaned closer, his heart skipping a beat as Alec’s mouth got close to his ear.

“Thank you” Alec whispered quietly before quickly pulling away and pressing a kiss to Magnus’ cheek before ducking underwater, swimming away.

Magnus was frozen in the spot Alec had left him in, his thoughts running a thousand miles an hour. He slowly raised a hand to his cheek, gently touching the skin were Alec’s lips had been moments ago… did that just happen?

~~~~~~~~~~

Another two weeks passed of walking practice and strength training for Alec before it was finally that day, the day Magnus had planned for the two of them in the city.

Alec was buzzing with excitement as Magnus waited for him to get dressed, he was wrapped up in a scarf and jacket as it was quite cold.

“Um… Magnus?” Alec called as he came out of the bathroom, fully dressed but barefoot.

“Would you like some help with your shoes?” Magnus smiled as Alec nodded sheepishly, sitting down a nearby chair allowing Magnus to put his shoes on his feet. The moment they were on Alec jumped up once again looking at Magnus excitedly.

“Are you ready to go?” Magnus questioned, already knowing Alec’s answer.

“Where are we going first?” Alec asked as they began walking out of the infirmary and towards the exit of the rehabilitation centre.

“You’ll just have to wait and see won’t you, my dear” Magnus smirked as he took Alec’s arm before opening a portal leading them into an alleyway. 

The moment the two of them stepped through Magnus’ heard Alec suck in a breath. Turning his head to look at him he was delighted to see Alec’s face full of wonder and awe.

“Shall we Alexander?” Magnus smiled gesturing to the exit of the alleyway.

“Lead the way” Alec smirked back much to Magnus’ delight.

Their first stop was one of the many local bookshops; Magnus had never asked if Alec liked reading so he believed this was a great way to find out. 

“Whoa… look at all of these books!” Alec exclaimed as they walked in the door, unhooking his arm from Magnus’ before rushing over to one of the many shelves piled with books.

“Well, that clears that up” Magnus mumbled to himself with a smile, attempting to keep up with Alec as he dashed around the store taking in as many books as he could. 

“There are so many! How would someone get the time to read all this stuff?” Alec questioned as he read the blurb of yet another book.

“Well sadly, a lot of people don’t have the chance to read a lot due to other commitments” Magnus answered, noticing that Alec was admiring the book he was holding.

“Have you found something you like Alexander?” Magnus questioned attempting to look at the book Alec was holding.

“Have you read this before Magnus?” Alec said almost as if he hadn’t heard what Magnus had said, holding the book out to him. The warlock gently took the book from Alec and smiled when he saw the title, “Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell.

“I have, it is quite the classic story” Magnus replied handing the book back to Alec who smiled before sadly and almost reluctantly placed the book back on the shelf.

“Alexander if you wish to read this book I can buy it for you,” Magnus said grabbing Alec’s arm before he wandered off again. The merman’s eyes widened in shock as he looked between Magnus and the book.

“You can? But I don’t want you to spend-  
“Hush, it’s the least I can do” Magnus brushed off Alec’s attempt to argue and grabbed the book, handing it back to Alec.

“Are you sure? You’ve done so much for me already” Alec mumbled holding the book against his chest.

“I insist, shall we pay for it?”

~~~~~~~~

Time seemed to fly as the two continued to explore the city together, more bookstores, clothing stores, toy stores and finally ending it with dinner at a restaurant. Alec had been confused on what to get as he had never had the chance to choose his own food, Magnus ended up ordering him a steak with some fries and a soda, not knowing the merman’s alcohol tolerance.

That led them to where they were now, walking around central park eating ice cream despite the cold temperatures.

“Did you enjoy you enjoy your day Alexander?” Magnus questioned tilting his head to look at the other man.

“It was… incredible, but my legs feel like they’re about to fall off” Alec replied with a smile.

“Let’s sit, there’s a bench right there” Magnus pointed to up ahead, the two made their way over and sat down next to each other, their breath visible in the cold night air. Together they sat in a comfortable silence for a while, admiring the dark scenery.

“Wow…” Magnus heard Alec exclaim quietly, turning he saw Alec staring up at the stars with absolute awe in his eyes.

“I haven’t seen the stars like this… in years” Alec smiled, eyes darting between each star. Magnus’ heart jumped as he took in the man next to him, he was so innocent, so pure… yet he had been through so much.

Alec looked down and noticed Magnus staring causing him to blush and turn away in slight embarrassment. 

“Magnus… I just wanted to say thank you, you’ve helped me so much in the past 10 months. If you hadn’t of came along and helped me, I don’t know where I’d be right now, and even when I tried to push you away or I struggled you never left me… I’ve never had someone do anything like that for me before… thank you” Alec declared, leaving Magnus in silence, not knowing how to respond.

“Alexander, you don’t have to thank me. I did all of this because I wanted to, I wanted to help you get better and I still do. You’ve made amazing progress and I’m so proud of how far you’ve come” Magnus replied gently grabbing one of Alec’s gloved hands.

Alec gave Magnus a small smile before looking down at his shoes and letting out a deep exhale, the type of exhale that worried Magnus.

“Is something the matter?” Magnus questioned, fear slightly creeping into his heart. He was surprised when Alec looked back up at him with determination in his eyes.

“Fuck it” He uttered before the impossible happened, Alec leaned in and placed his lips against Magnus’. He froze at the action and his eyes widened, his brain short-circuiting. He quickly melted into the kiss and return it eagerly, it didn’t last long enough in Magnus’ opinion but Alec pulled away and looked at him slightly worried.

“Was… was that okay?”

“That, Alexander… was perfect”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the fluff!  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> .  
>  **IT WON'T LAST LONG ;)**


	6. Chapter Six

Time moved very quickly after that night. One moment they were exchanging the odd flirts and the next they were in an official relationship, living together in Magnus’ loft. 

After a few months, Alec was finally fully recovered and ready to leave the rehabilitation centre, but the problem was he had nowhere to go. So, Magnus being the loving boyfriend he was suggested Alec move in with him. At first, Alec was hesitant not wanting to intrude on Magnus’ space but when the warlock continued to insist, he gratefully moved in.

Today was a quiet day for the two, Magnus was working on a potion for a client whilst Alec sat reading another book he had gotten from the bookstore.

“And leave it to stew for two hours…” Magnus mumbled to himself as he added a pinch of vampire hair.

“Why do you need that again?” Alec asked looking up over his book as Magnus walked back over to the couch to sit down next to him.

“A mundane woman’s daughter has a type of illness only a certain potion can cure, she came to me for help” Magnus answered as he placed an arm around Alec prompting the merman to snuggle into his side, humming in content.

Magnus smiled as he placed a hand in Alec’s hair, gently playing with the short locks as he watched him read. As he was about to ask Alec what he wanted to eat for dinner a feeling of uneasiness washed over him as he felt multiple shadowhunters entering his wards.

“I’ll be back in a moment” Magnus mumbled, getting up from the couch quickly to head to the door. Just as he was about to reach the double doors, they flung open hitting the walls due to the force and something snapped around his wrist… a magic suppressant.

“Magnus Bane, by the order of the Clave I am here to remove the merperson you have been harbouring for the past months” Magnus’ head snapped up as that voice met his ears, standing in front of him was Victor Aldertree.

“Wha-, what is going on?! You can’t just storm into my home like this!” Magnus exclaimed loudly as more shadowhunters came in through the door.

“I have the right to as you’ve been illegally hiding a species of downworlder that was thought to be dead” Aldertree replied and Magnus’ blood ran cold.

“Alexander!” He shouted and went to run into the living room, but they were two steps ahead of him. Two shadowhunters grabbed onto his arms, restraining him from running to get to his partner.

“You are lucky you aren’t getting executed Bane” Aldertree spat as Magnus struggled in the grip of the two shadowhunters.

“Let me go!” He shouted, attempting to conjure magic to protect himself, but the magic suppressant held strong not allowing even a spark to come out of his hands.

“Magnus!” Magnus struggled even harder hearing Alec’s cry for him. Three shadowhunters came out of the living room Alec in tow, gripping him tightly by his arms. Alec was kicking and flailing in an attempt to get loose from the shadowhunters holding him, dragging him towards the door.

“Alexander!” Magnus shouted and reached out his hand in an attempt to grab Alec. The merman looked over at him with panic in his eyes but noticed the action, also reaching out to attempt to grab Magnus’ hand.

Just as their fingers were about to brush something hard smacked into the back of Magnus’ head causing his world blur out, his body to go limp and ringing to fill his ears. He felt his arms being let go causing him to drop to the floor, unable to get his body to move.

“Maybe next time you’ll know your place” Magnus heard Aldertree say in his ear as he watched the blurry sight of Alec being dragged out the door screaming for him before everything went dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“.....nus….”

“Ma…..”

“...you hea….”

“Head…blood….”

Magnus groaned as he slowly came too, pain wracking through the back of his skull.

“Magnus? Can you hear me?” A familiar voice asked, Magnus, opened his eyes and looked up seeing the blurry figures of Ragnor Fell and Catarina kneeling above him.

“Ragnor? Cat?” Magnus asked they both let out a sigh of relief before Cat gently helped Magnus sit up.

“Magnus are you okay?” Cat asked, concern lacing her voice.

“I’m… fine” Magnus replied rubbing his head where he had been hit.

“What the hell happened? I come over to visit and I find you passed out on the floor with blood coming out of your head” Ragnor exclaimed, suddenly it all came rushing back to Magnus.

“ALEXANDER!” He shouted making an attempt to get up but dizziness quickly overtook him and he fell back down.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa Magnus take it easy, I think you have a concussion,” Cat said firmly.

“I can’t Cat! They, they took Alec!” Magnus exclaimed grabbing onto Cat’s arms in pure desperation and panic, Ragnor and Cat’s eyes both widened as they looked at each other.

“Here let’s get you on the couch and get some ice on your head” Cat mumbled as both she and Ragnor helped Magnus stand and led him to the couch before grabbing an ice pack, placing it on the back of his head.

“Cat you don’t understand! The clave have him! They’ll hurt him and experiment on him! He just got better Cat I can’t let that happen again!” Magnus cried in pure panic. 

“We’ll figure it out Magnus, take a breath”

~~~~~~~

Alec hugged his tail tighter to his body as his eyes flickered around the room, the walls were made of concrete and there was a glass wall separating the room. He had been placed in a small tank, barely giving him enough room to move.

Memories of that pool in the club’s basement came rushing back causing a shiver to run through him, he wanted to go home, he wanted Magnus. 

A door opening caused him to freeze as two people stepped into the room he was in, one of them being the man who came to his and Magnus’ house and the other an older looking lady with curly brown hair. The two of them looked him over with disgust before turning to each other.

“Where did you find him, Victor?” The women asked, folding her arms across her chest.

“In the residence of high warlock Bane, Inquisitor, we don’t know how long he has been in his possession” The man, Victor, replied. The woman nodded before turning back to look at Alec once more.

“Start phase one,” She said as she turned to walk out of the room.

“Of course Inquisitor, get him ready,” Victor said, standing back as multiple shadowhunters piled into the small room. It happened quickly, one second he was in that small tank and the next he was strapped down to a metal table with Victor circling him like a vulture would do their prey, a large black rod in his hands.

“So tell me, how long have you been hiding?” Victor questioned, coming to a stop next to Alec’s head.

“I-I… I don’t know what you mean” Alec replied, his voice shaking lightly. Victor smirked to himself before electricity crackled through the room, Alec watched in horror as Victor moved the sparking rod above his stomach.

“Are there more of you?” He continued.

“I don’t know! I have-” He cut himself off as a scream ripped itself from his throat as the rod came into contact with his skin. White hot pain flashed through his body as Victor continued to electrocute him. Once the rod was pulled away it left Alec panting from the pain.

“What can you do? Any special skills?” His voice was more stern this time around.

“I already told you I don’t know!” Alec exclaimed Victor, frowned before placing the rod back on Alec’s skin once again causing the merman to writhe in agony.

“We could do this all day downworlder, you’re not making this any easier for yourself”

The torture went on for what felt like hours, whenever Alec didn’t give Victor the answer he wanted he would shock him, an evil grin on his face the whole time. When the interrogation was finally over, Alec was covered in burn marks and tears were dripping down his cheeks.

“Put him back in the tank, I’m done with this freak for today” Victor growled as he turned and walked out of the room. Yet again the same team of shadowhunters came in, unstrapped Alec from the table and placed him back in the small tank, leaving him shaking and sobbing under the water.

“M-Magnus… help me...” He whimpered, hugging himself tighter wanting nothing more than to just disappear.

~~~~~

“Get these to Aldertree’s office then I have to go find Jace” Izzy mumbled to herself as she sorted through the papers in her hands. She had just gotten out of the archives and was heading back up to the main office.

Just as she was about to head up the stairs she paused when a strange sound met her ears, it sounded like… crying?

Curiosity got the better of her and she followed the noise down the hall, it was getting louder the closer she got, it lead her right up to the cells. Izzy poked her head around the corner and her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

In the cell sat a small tank and inside that tank sat what looked to be a merman. Izzy was in complete shock, never in her life did she ever expect to see a real-life merperson, they were extinct!

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard what the merman was saying.

“M-Magnus… help me” Izzy froze at the mention of the warlock’s name, the same warlock she had helped in the archives looking for information on merpeople months ago. This… this was the merperson he had been talking about and he seemed to be calling to him for help.

Anger filled Izzy as she looked at him, he was covered in burn marks and the beginning of bruises was beginning to appear all over his arms. She had to do something, if he was to stay in the institute, Aldertree would end up killing him.

Reluctantly, she gathered the papers in her hands and turned leaving the sobbing merman behind, she was getting him out of here no matter the price.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **:D**


	7. Chapter Seven

“Magnus please stop pacing, it isn’t helping,” Catarina said looking up from the spellbook she was looking through.

“We’ve looked through, every single spellbook that we can get our hands on and still found nothing! It’s been three months Catarina!” Magnus shouted, glaring at the other warlock.

“Shouting at her isn’t going to help you get your boyfriend back, Bane” Ragnor exclaimed, slamming shut the spellbook on his lap. Magnus sighed and dropped his arms to his sides, his shoulders sagging in exhaustion.

“I’m… sorry Cat” he sighed, rubbing at his temple as he could feel a headache forming behind his eyes. Cat exchanged a sad look with Ragnor before standing up and gently grabbing Magnus’ shoulders.

“We’ll figure something out Magnus, I promise, we won’t let him die in there,” Cat said gently as Magnus met her eyes, tears swimming in his gaze.

“I’m so afraid Cat… he doesn’t deserve any of this” Magnus whispered in a small voice as a tear escaped his eye. The blue warlock sighed before pulling Magnus into a hug, allowing her friend to let out his emotions.

“I want to burn that fucking building to the ground” Magnus sobbed, tightly holding onto Cat.

“I know Magnus, I know” Cat mumbled, gently rocking both of them back and forth. The three warlocks had been searching for months for an answer, a way to get Alec out of the institute. All downworlders had been banned from coming within 50 feet of the institute as a precaution, so no one had the chance, specifically Magnus, to take their “possession”.

“What they are doing is illegal, there are laws protecting downworlders from this kind of stuff” Ragnor added in, standing to meet the other two warlocks in the middle of the living room.

“They are only getting away with it because they are shadowhunters, if any downworlder tried anything like this with a shadowhunter they’d be executed on the spot” Cat frowned, not taking her attention away from her friend sobbing in her arms.

“We need-” Magnus cut himself off when he felt someone enter his wards.

“Magnus? Is something wrong?” Cat asked, pulling away slightly to look Magnus over.

“A shadowhunter,” Magnus said with a frown, pulling away from Cat and heading towards the door, magic at the ready. Slowly he opened the door and was shocked to see Isabelle standing on the other side just about to knock.

“Isabelle? What are you doing here? How did you find me?” Magnus questioned with a frown on his face.

“The institute took it upon themselves to gather all information they could find on you, even your address… I need to speak with you” She explained. Magnus nodded and stepped aside, allowing Isabelle to walk into the living room were the other two warlocks where standing, looking at her in confusion.

“Cat, Ragnor, this is Isabelle Lightwood, she helped me look for information on Alec a while back” Magnus explained.

“Magnus I don’t have much time, Aldertree has been watching me like a hawk and I’ve been trying to sneak out for the past three months. Alec is in serious danger” The mention of Alec’s name caused Magnus to suck in a stuttered gasp before rushing over and grab Isabelle by the shoulders.

“You’ve seen Alec?! Is he okay?! Have they been feeding him?! How badly is he hurt?!” Magnus exclaimed loudly, taking Isabelle by surprise. 

“I can’t lie to you, Magnus… he’s not in great shape, he seems to have lost weight, they’ve been taking his scales and pushing his body to its limits for experimentations” Isabelle answers causing Magnus’ stomach to fill with rage. Cat seemed to notice his change in demeanour and placed a hand on Magnus’ shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

“The reason I needed to come here today is because they’re planning to dry him out,” Isabelle said.

“But if he dries out, he’ll just turn into his human form” Cat explained to her.

“That’s where the problem lies, they’ve figured out a way to suppress his human form… meaning they are going to be able to dry him out in his regular form” As if Magnus’ blood had turned to ice, a shiver of fear ran through him.

“They’re… they’re going to kill him” Magnus uttered, his world felt like it was collapsing around him.

“What is the point of telling us this if you can’t do anything?” Ragnor butted in, putting an arm around Magnus in case his legs gave out.

“You don’t think I’ve been sitting around for three months just doing nothing do you?” Isabelle questioned quirking an eyebrow, that caused Magnus to perk right back up.

“You have a plan?” Magnus asked.

“Of course, my brother, his girlfriend, myself and a few other shadowhunters have come up with a plan to get him out, all we need is you, Magnus,” Isabelle said with a nod.

“What do you need me to do?” Magnus asked.

“Wait, Magnus, this could be a trap” Ragnor quickly said to his friend.

“I appreciate your concern Ragnor, but I trust Isabelle” He replied before turning back to the shadowhunter.

“Alright, here’s the plan”

~~~~~~~

Magnus was wringing his hands out in nervousness as he stood in the park surrounding the institute. Everything was prepared, Cat as at the rehabilitation centre waiting for Magnus to and arrive and Ragnor was on watch at the front of the centre, no doubt the shadowhunters would notice Alec’s disappearance and come for them.

“Come on Isabelle, where are you?” Magnus mumbled to himself.

Just as he began to fear the shadowhunter had been caught, the top of the building began to glint lightly… the signal.

Magnus sucked in a deep breath before opening a portal leading into the archives, the alarms had been turned off by one of the shadowhunters allowing Magnus to slip in without being noticed. 

“I’m coming for you Alexander” he whispered quietly before quickly making his way towards the cells. The moment he exited the archives he could feel the change in temperature and it was getting warmer the closer he got to the cells. As he got closer to the cells, a noise met his ears causing him to freeze in his tracks.

His first thought was that the shadowhunters that weren’t in on the plan had caught on and were already in the cell with Alec, but the closer he listened, the more the sound confused him. The sound was somewhat high pitched, almost like the sound of a dolphin? It was crying out, almost frantically and desperately. Still confused by the noise, his desire to get to Alec quickly caused him to ignore it and he continued on his way.

The closer he got to the cells, the louder the noise got, it was clearly coming from within the cell block somewhere. The heat was sweltering as he stepped through the archway into the cells, but he froze nonetheless at the sight in front of him.

Behind the sheet of glass separating the cell from the rest of the room, was Alec. He was strapped down to a table and had multiple heat lamps on him. Taking a quick scan of his partner he could see his skin was extremely pale and his tail looked terribly dry.

Not wanting to wait a second more he rushed over to the glass and punched a command into the control panel, causing the glass to rise up giving him access to Alec. Magnus heard himself gasp as he took in the sight of Alec on the table, his skin covered in bruises which now look extremely dark due to the lack of colour in his skin, his eyes half-lidded and glassy and his breathing was extremely quick and shallow. 

The two things that surprised Magnus the most is one, Alec was still fighting, weakly but he was fighting, attempting to get himself off the table. The second thing that shocked Magnus more was that the noise he had heard all the way to the cells was coming from Alec.

“A-Alexander? Can you hear me?” Magnus questioned, placing a hand on the side of Alec’s head, only to be met with feverish skin. Alec’s eyes slowly rolled over Magnus and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. 

“Ma-” was all he could get out due to the dry state of his gills

“Shh don't waste your energy love, I’m here to get you out” Magnus mumbled, feeling tears of happiness beginning to build up in his eyes due to the fact that Alec was still hanging on.

Magnus began to unstrap Alec from the table, gently whispering comforting words to the merman who continued to cry out, but he doubted that Alec was registering anything at this point in time.

As delicately as he could, Magnus gathered Alec into his arms, causing the merman to whine in pain at the movement.

“Hurts…” He rasped out.

“I know sweetheart, I know it’ll be okay” Magnus replied, noticing how limp Alec was in his arms. Turning away from the table Magnus opened up a portal leading back to the infirmary, but just as he was about to step through he noticed people rushing into the room out of the corner of his eye. The inquisitor, Aldertree and a bunch of other shadowhunters were standing in the archway looking him with shock.

Magnus sent them a hateful glare before stepping through the portal, closing it behind him. The temperature change from the cells to infirmary was astronomical, the cold air caused a shiver to run down Magnus’ spine.

“Get him in the water, he’s severely overheated” Cat exclaimed the moment they walked through. He snapped away his clothes, leaving him only in his underwear he walked up the steps leading into the pool before getting in, submerging himself up to his shoulders but keeping Alec’s head between his neck and shoulder.

“What is that noise he’s making,” Cat asked as she walked over to the pool, Magnus had forgotten that Alec was making such a noise, even though it was getting quieter. A small wave of shock came over Magnus when he remembered the book he had read months ago.

“It’s… a type of distress call merpeople will use when they are in trouble but… I thought they only used it for their mates” Magnus replied as he began to gently pour water over Alec’s face and gills, attempting to bring him back around. Magnus looked up when he heard Cat gasp lightly.

“What?” Magnus questioned taking in her happy and surprised look.

“Don’t you get it, Magnus? Alec has chosen you as his mate” Catarina exclaimed with a smile causing Magnus to stop.

“He… but I’m not… how?” Magnus questioned looking down at the merman in his arms, a mixture of confusion and love rushing through him.

“Love works in strange ways Magnus” Cat answered him, settling down on one of the stairs just watching the pair. Magnus continued to pour water over Alec until the crying calmed down. It was soon replaced with Alec beginning to purr and nuzzle into Magnus’ neck.

“I take it this is also a merperson thing?” Cat asked making Magnus smile, placing a hand on the back of Alec’s head.

“Yes, merpeople are known to do this when they’re feeling safe and with their mate” Magnus replied, just holding Alec tightly.

Slowly but surely Alec began to come back around, his eyes no longer glassy and his breathing evening out.

“Magnus?” Alec’s quiet voice asked, prompting Magnus to gently pull Alec’s head away from his neck so they could look at each other.

“Hey there, welcome back love” Magnus smiled.

“What's going on?” Alec questioned, his eyes flickering around the room.

“Everything is fine Alexander, you’re safe” Magnus replied, gently brushing back Alec’s sweat soaked hair.

“But… I was there and-

“Don’t worry darling, nothing is going to hurt you now so just relax” Magnus said gently. Alec sighed and reached an arm up, wrapping it around Magnus’ and placing his head back into the crook of his neck once more.

“Magnus… when I was in there I was so scared I’d never see you again” Alec mumbled against Magnus’ skin causing the warlock’s heart to shatter a little.

“Oh Alexander, you know I was never going to leave you in there, right?” Magnus questioned gently pulling Alec’s head away from his neck once more so he could look him in the eyes.

“Of course not… I was just scared you wouldn’t be able to get in, that you’d be killed whilst trying to get me” Alec continued.

“I would have done anything to get in there, nothing would have kept me from you,” Magnus said firmly.

“Magnus… I love you” Alec said quietly which caused Magnus heart to stop, an overwhelming feeling of warmth ran over Magnus as he stared down at his boyfriend. Before this moment neither of them had said those three words, Magnus had felt it for a while but had been afraid to scare Alec away.

“I love you too Alexander” Magnus replied, a small smile on his face, Alec returned the smile as Magnus lent down and gently kissed Alec’s warm forehead. Of course, that moment of peace had to be interrupted when Ragnor came bursting into the infirmary, panic on his face.

“The shadowhunters, they’re here” Ragnor exclaimed, mention of the shadowhunters caused Alec to whimper and hide his face once more.

“Let them come, they can’t hurt him this time” Magnus growled lowly, protectiveness flaring up inside of him. Cat and Ragnor nodded before getting up and placing a barrier of magic in the middle of the room, splitting it in half.

Just as they were finished the team of shadowhunters burst through the door with Aldertree and the Inquisitor following suit.

“Warlock Bane, I demand you hand over the clave’s property immediately” The Inquisitor demanded causing boiling rage to fill Magnus’ stomach. 

“How dare you. First, you come into my home and kidnap my partner, then you torture him for months on end almost killing him! And then you waltz in here ‘demanding’ I give you back your ‘property’? Well I have news for you Imogen, what you are doing is illegal and there are laws, laws you have broken that protect downworlders such as Alec from you, so I suggest you turn, leave and never come within 100 feet of him or you will not like the result” Magnus exclaimed firmly, not breaking eye contact with the woman.

It was silent as the inquisitor took in what he had said before she straightened herself up and glared at him.

“This isn’t over, Bane” She spat before turning on her heel and walking out, all shadowhunters following. Aldertree lingered behind but a murderous glare from Magnus caused him to run out with his tail between his legs.

All three warlocks let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding as the magic barrier went down. Alec pulled his head out of Magnus’ neck and looked up at the warlock.

“Magnus, what happens next? What if they don’t listen to you? What if they come after me again and kill you? What if-” Magnus cut off Alec’s rambling by placing his lips against the merman’s, Alec quickly melted into the kiss and placed a hand on Magnus’ neck. When they pulled away Magnus smiled down at Alec.

“They won’t be bothering us anymore”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter!
> 
> Please read the bottom to see author's notes!

The infirmary was quiet at this time of night; the only light illuminating the room was the underwater lights coming from the tank Alec was currently asleep in. He was lying asleep at the bottom of the pool, looking as peaceful as ever. Magnus was sat by the side of the pool on a chair, a towel wrapped around him as he watched his boyfriend sleep.

Cat and him had both agreed that he should stay in the infirmary pool overnight just to make sure he was properly hydrated once again and if anything was to happen they’d have easy access to him.

“Hey” A quiet voice brought Magnus out of his thoughts, turning he saw Cat walking in with a blanket and a steaming cup in her hands. Magnus silently smiled at her as she handed him the drink and wrapped the blanket around him, after removing the towel.

“How is he doing?” Cat asked as she pulled up a chair and sat across from Magnus.

“He’s alright, just a bit of tossing” Magnus replied. Cat sighed which caused Magnus to frown.

“Is something the matter Cat?” Magnus questioned.

“I was looking through some old records to see if I could find Alec and I did… on a shadowhunter birth certificate” Cat explained which caused Magnus’ eyes to widen.

“Are you sure it’s him? I’m sure there are a lot of Alexander’s out there” Magnus exclaimed.

“Magnus… I’m about ninety-five percent sure it’s him; Alexander Gideon Lightwood born September 1st, 1989 to Maryse and Robert Lightwood” Cat recollected to him.

“Wait, wait… did you say Lightwood?” Magnus asked, not believing his ears.

“Yes Magnus, Alec is a Lightwood” Cat affirmed him, everything seemed to click into place for Magnus.

“No wonder his parents sold him as a child, Maryse and Robert aren’t known to be the most loving parents” Magnus mumbled.

“I think we should tell Isabelle Lightwood straight away it’s-

“Cat no, it’s Alec choice whether or not he wants his family to be involved in his life, we’ll let him make the decision when he wakes up” Magnus stated firmly and Cat nodded in agreeance.

~~~~~~~~~

Everything seemed slightly off when Alec began to wake up, the water he was in was cold and fresh and he had a lot more room to move around. Opening his eyes to figure out where he was, relief flooded him when he recognized the pool he was in belonged to the infirmary.

He was laying on his back staring up at the ceiling, under the water. Rolling his head to the side, his eyes landed on Cat, Magnus and another person Alec had never seen, he was tall and had horns sticking out of the top of his head. The three of them seemed to be chatting about something, not knowing he was awake. Deciding to make his presence known he breached the water causing all of the warlocks to look over at him.

“Alexander!” Magnus exclaimed with a smile, rushing over to Alec’s side before grabbing his head and kissing him hard on the lips, the kiss full of love and desperation.

“I was so worried, you’ve been asleep for three days!” Magnus exclaimed as he pulled away, still gently holding Alec’s face.

“Three days?! Why didn’t you wake me?” Alec asked.

“You obviously needed it love; how do you feel?” Magnus replied.

“I’m okay, very hungry though,” Alec said, to that Magnus snapped his fingers and a small plate of fruits and a bit of meat appeared on a table next to the tank, allowing Alec to reach for it when he wanted.

Alec smiled and began eating slowly, glad to finally be eating food once again that had a bit of flavour. Magnus watched Alec eat silently for a little while before he put a hand on his partner’s shoulder, knowing he couldn’t put it off any longer.

“Alexander, Catarina was looking through some records to see if she could find you… and she did, she found your birth certificate” Magnus said causing Alec to frown.

“So she found out who my parents are?” He questioned.

“Yes… they are Maryse and Robert Lightwood, making you a Lightwood as well” Magnus explained.

“I don’t understand, is being a Lightwood a bad thing?” Alec questioned, noticing Magnus was frowning.

“No Alexander, there is nothing wrong with you being a Lightwood, it just means that you are half shadowhunter” Magnus replied causing Alec’s eyes to widen, he stopped eating as the information set in.

“You mean… I’m like… them?” Alec whispered Magnus knew he was referencing to the shadowhunters who had taken him.

“No, Alexander you are nothing like them, they are following orders from two very evil and twisted people,” Magnus said quickly, not wanting Alec to think anything bad about himself.

“Magnus I’m not-

“Alec enough, please just listen to me” Magnus interrupted Alec before he began ranting. Alec sighed and nodded, leaning into the hand Magnus had on his shoulder.

“Because you are a Lightwood, that means you have three siblings, two that live at the institute and I was wondering if you would like to meet them,” Magnus asked, Alec began fiddling with his hands and biting his lip, clearly weighing up his options.

“I’ll be here the whole time, sweetheart” Magnus mumbled, gently reaching forwards to grab one of Alec’s hands. Alec sighed before looking back over to Magnus, fear clear in his eyes.

“Alright, I’ll meet them,” Alec said quietly.

“Okay, shall I give your sister a call?” Magnus questioned to which Alec nodded.

“I’ll keep an eye on him, go make the phone call,” Cat said as Magnus gently pulled away and grabbed his phone out of his pocket, dialling Isabelle’s number.

“Magnus? How is everything? Is the merman okay?” Isabelle said the moment she picked.

“He’s fine Isabelle; I need you to come to the infirmary” Magnus replied.

“Why do you need me?” Isabelle asked, confusion clear in her voice.

“You and Jace to be precise, I need to speak to you both about something personal” Magnus continued.

“Alright, open a portal for us and we’ll be there in a second” Isabelle said before hanging up. Magnus quickly opened the portal Isabelle had requested and the two shadowhunters walked through, a look of confusion on both of their faces.

“Is something the matter?” Jace asked noticing the frown on the warlock's face, Magnus sucked in a deep breath before looking at the pair.

“I have to tell you both something, it may sound crazy but just listen to me,” Magnus said firmly, Jace and Isabelle nodded, willing to hear him out. 

“The merman who we rescued from the institute, his name is Alec and myself and Cat just figured out he is a Lightwood, making him your older brother” Magnus explained, both Jace and Isabelle’s eyes widened. Before they could interrupt he continued.

“Now I believe the reason neither of you knew about him, Isabelle I think your parents may have placed a block in your mind so you could forget he ever existed and never told Jace about him in the first place” Magnus finished, taking in their expressions.

“How… how is this possible? Mum and dad had another child and we had no idea” Isabelle mumbled in shock, Jace placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

“He is inside and is willing to see you, but I must warn you he hasn’t had the best experience with shadowhunters so please be cautious,” Magnus said sternly, the pair nodded and followed Magnus back inside to where Cat was looking Alec over. When the three met eyes it seemed as if time froze, long lost siblings taking each other in for the first time in. 

Magnus was drawn away from Isabelle and Jace when he heard Alec whimper lightly, quickly disregarding the other Lightwoods he rushed over to Alec’s side and took his hand, feeling him shaking in his hold.

“Alexander, this is Isabelle and Jace Lightwood, your siblings” Magnus said gently, Alec’s grip on Magnus’ hand seemed to tighten as he watched his siblings from across the room.

“Hi, Alec,” Isabelle said quietly, a small smile on her face as she waved. Alec didn’t say anything and just nodded his head slightly.

“Can… can we come closer?” Isabelle asked Magnus could clearly see Alec didn’t like the idea but he nodded anyway, allowing the two siblings to walk a bit closer to his tank. She sat down on one of the chairs and looked her brother over.

Out of nowhere, Isabelle began to tear up and place her hands over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her cries. Alec frowned and looked towards Magnus in confusion, the warlock quickly kissed his cheek in reassurance. Jace had placed his arm around Isabelle, comforting her as she cried.

“Where have you been all this time?” Jace questioned.

“My… our parents sold me when I was young, I’ve been everywhere” Alec mumbled with a shrug of his shoulders.

“I’m going to fucking kill them” Isabelle exclaimed as she wiped her eyes.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Isabelle, if I know anything about Maryse and Robert, if they hear that Alec is still alive they may come after him” Magnus quickly added, not wanting Alec to be put into any more danger. Just as Isabelle was about to say something, Jace’s phone chirped causing him to pull it out of his pocket.

“It’s Clary, Aldertree is coming back,” Jace said helping Isabelle up from the chair.

“Take care Alec, we’ll see you again soon,” Isabelle said with a gentle smile, Alec once again nodded and watched as Magnus opened a portal for the two, closing it behind them once they left.

Alec let out a sigh making Magnus turn to the merman.

“How are you feeling love?” Magnus asked.

“I’m okay… just emotionally exhausted” Alec replied, placing his head on Magnus’ shoulder.

“Catarina, can I take him home?” Magnus questioned turning to the other warlock.

“Everything seems fine, he’s free to go home” Catarina smiled, the three warlocks helped Alec get up out of the pool and laid him down, beginning to heat his tail up once more. Alec grimaced through the whole process since it had been a while since he had changed into his human form. Magnus helped him get dressed before taking him into his arms, bridal style and opening a portal leading to their loft.

An overwhelming sense of relief washed over Alec as he took in the loft for what seemed like the first time in forever. They were in the bedroom, the sheets were a dark blue colour and it smelt like sandalwood.

“Shall we go to bed?” Magnus suggested, Alec nodded sleepily against Magnus’ chest. Magnus placed Alec down on their bed and helped him out of the clothes from the infirmary and into his pj’s, quickly following suit before tucking them both into bed. Alec instantly cuddled in Magnus’ side which caused him to smile, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend.

“I missed you, so much” Alec mumbled, nosing at Magnus’ neck.

“I missed you to Alexander” Magnus returned the statement, kissing the merman’s head gently.

“I love you, I never lost faith that’d you’d come for me,” Alec said sleepily.

“I promise you, my love, I’ll never let anything like that happen again”

 

~~~~~~~~~  
Thank you so much for sticking with me in this story!

So I have four ideas for my next fic and I would like your opinions on which one I should do next, keep in mind I have a plan completed for one so I can get that one started straight away, with the others I’d have to write a plan

Alright so these are the ideas:

-Magnus is a single father and has to work three jobs to support himself and his daughter Madzie, Alec is a cop coming from a rich family (Mundane AU)

-Alec is a model and Magnus owns a bookshop, one visit turns into two, then three, then four. After a while Magnus sees that not everything is as it seems when it comes to Alec (Mundane AU)(Plan is ready)

-Warlocks are disappearing left and right, Alec is afraid Magnus may be next

-Alec is chronically ill, he suffers from seizures, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome are just few. To keep himself alive, he has a service dog who helps him try and live his life normally. Magnus is a nurse who constantly sees Alec at the hospital and happens to be his next-door neighbour (Mundane AU)

So please let me know in the comments what you would like to see next!  
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Thank you so much!  
-Gummi xxx

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> If you want more, check out my tumblr: https://gummi-stories.tumblr.com
> 
> If you want something written, send me a message!


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